"teen kids news" is on now and here's what we've got. how teens in texas are making a difference in the lives of people facing serious illness. it takes more than just balance to ride this, courage helps too! i'll show you a fun new way to keep track of your fitness goals! we've got an all access pass into a world of the strange. the very strange. >> and much more next on "teen kids news." ♪

>> welcome to "teen kids news," i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm jessica. here's our top story for this week. >> a lot of teens have busy schedules, but many still find time for volunteering. sienna takes a look at how some texas students connect to cancer patients after school. >> chloe is head manager for the boys varsity basketball team at her school and a high achieving girl scout. celina is editor in chief of her school yearbook, and a debater. nevin is also on his school's debate team, and he competes in an academic decathelon. but all through high school, they also have been busy, helping to brighten the lives of people coping with cancer. >> all my other extracurricular activities i do for myself, but volunteering is one of the things i can really do for other people, where i really feel like i'm helping my community and contributing to my society. >> the md anderson cancer center in houston provides volunteer opportunities for hundreds of high school students.

>> teens are clinic aid volunteers, gift shop volunteers, they volunteer in our beauty-barbershop, our cybercenter, our patient family center, a variety of over 40 different positions. >> chloe and celina run a service that brings hats to patients who are losing their hair because of cancer treatments. >> hi, we're with volunteer services and we're here to offer you a free hat! >> what makes this volunteer program special is not only the commitment of the students. it's the hospital's commitment as well to give them meaningful jobs, and training. for example, chloe received thorough instruction on how to properly interact with people h. >> i was definitely worried about interacting with people 0 with illness, very serious illnesses at that. and they give you the skills when you train to work with different kinds of people and even your teammates on the hat cart. >> it's very important that our teens are well trained.

and they're assigned and matched to a particular position not only of interest to them but one that we feel is appropriate for their life experience. >> nevin has gained a lot of experience here. like many of the volunteers, he has committed one evening every week, throughout high school. now he plans to focus on a health care career. >> seeing different people here around md anderson, the patientg and the families, have really helped me pick my career choice, and helped me choose the path i want to take for college. >> celina is not planning a career in medicine. but she has learned plenty of lessons here that she'll use in the future. >> i'm always a bit nervous around new people. it didn't make it any easier that i knew these people had life threatening conditions. so it was just really nice to be able to meet these people and understand that their disease was not who they were, merely a situation that they were in. >> if you're interested in working at a hospital, the folks at md anderson suggest you start with the websites of health care facilities near you. look for a "volunteer services"

department and ask if they make room for teens. >> teens bring enthusiasm and their own personal experience. they share it with our patients, and our staff, and the patients and caregivers absolutely love it! >> one thing to keep in mind, even though you don't get paid for volunteering, you're expected to honor the commitment. so make sure you're ready to take on the responsibility before you start. stay with us. there's lots more and now our fox in the classroom update. >> defense secretary leon panetta visiting iraq for the first time since taking on the job while visiting troops, the secretary repeating that the administration's primary goal is to defeat al qaeda worldwide. panetta pressing the iraqi government to decide on the future of u.s. military presence in iraq as strikes continue on

baghdad's green zone including three rocket attacks during his visit. he's asking for more support in stemming attacks on u.s. troops. >> we're very concerned about iran and weapons they're providing to extremists here in iraq. liftoff. the final liftoff of "atlantis." >> astronauts aboard space shuttle "atlantis" attaching a large storage canister to the international space station. the supplies consist of food, clothes and other provisions, enough to keep the station operating for another year. a space walk is planned to retrieve a broken ammonia pump and attach a robotic refueling experiment to the space station. "atlantis" is the last of nasa's three remaining shuttles to be retired of this flight. royal couple are back home in england of their whirlwind north american tour. the duke and dutch ses receiving the hollywood treatment during

their three day los angeles visit. after a day of playing polo, they were the stars at a bafta gala and took time out for charitable causes visiting an inner city arts program on skid row and meeting with u.s. servicemen and women. this was the first joint trip to the states for the newly marleyed cmarle this report is brought to you by barrett jackson. >> electric car auctions are fast paced, exciting and you think just for adults. >> $150,000. >> well, take a look at this. >> $50,000. $50,000. $50,000. >> 8-year-old cole ashley is living his dream. this young car enthusiast has

been coming to barrett jackson auctions with his parents for years. >> i just like the way that i can go and have fun out here at barrett jackson and bid on cars. >> going once. >> his real ambition wasn't being the person buying the cars but the person selling them like spanky. >> $280,000! >> the auctioneer talks fast to create excitement and energy, encouraging people to bid higher. it's a skill that takes talent and a lot of practice. >> i have my ipod and i can take out the background and i record some of the auctioneers and i just practice off of that. $50,000, $75,000. $80,000, all the way to $80,000. good deal now. sold, $100,000. >> at the recent barrett jackson

car auction in palm beach, florida, cole got his big chance. at first, he was only supposed to start the bidding for spanky. >> you ready? okay. ladies and gentlemen, here he goes. the man, the myth, the lend. >> cole took off fast and furious. >> this kid's not handing it off to nobody. he wants it to all himself. >> $50,000. $40,000. >> cole ashley deserves a scholarship to auctioneering school. he's got quite a future. >> everybody, dad told me he needs the money. come on, now. >> spanky will be hiring him in about five years. >> yeah, count on it. i'm sure we're going to see more of cole ashley if spanky has anything to say about it. >> sold, $40,500. >> good job. from start to finish. >> and the audience is just as sold on cole's impressive performance. this is one kid who's going,

going, going to have a great future in the car world. for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. >> i'm going to try to ride this thing. can i do it? stay tuned to find what has one wheel, one seat, and one talented rider? a unicycle! this bike may look liked something out of the circus, but there's a group of people who are devoted to riding it. >> my favorite part about unicycling is that it is different from other sports and it's really fun to learn new tricks. >> probably the adrenaline when you ride and the balance techniques. >> my favorite part about unicycling, if you're riding around town is people notice you and talk about you and you feel special. >> so what is this group that you have?

>> this is the new york unicycle club. i founded it along with a friend and my brother back in 2001.í >> now david's group has over 300 members, both young and young at heart. most historians believe the unicycle was created in the late

off-roading and even one called the impossible wheel. >> so what is the impossible wheel? >> a wheel, two platforms and nothing else. you stand on the platforms and something has to make you go. you throw them and then jump on while they're moving. >> okay so what about a possible unicycle, if there is such a thing. >> can anyone unicycle? >> yeah, there's a girl that rides unicycle despite having lost her leg to cancer and my daughter rides and she was 6. and a man that3] was 91 when he was áupted mastered it by 92. he was very, very careful. >> i figured, if a 92-year-old man could do it, there's no reason i couldn't try, but first, i wanted some advice. >> i'm about to unicycle, any tips or suggestions? >> try to stay on top of the unicycle and don't fall off! >> i suggest staying in the center of the unicycle and peddling not too fast but at a slow pace constantly. >> practice a lot! >> okay, i guess let's try it! >> so again, you kick a ball with your right foot.

let's get that right peddle lower. sit down first. then your right foot goes on. if you want to challenge yourself, try to put your left foot on without moving the righ[ foot. right. not bad. not bad. go half turn forward. that's it. very good. excellent. go a little more. sit up straight. >> not as easy as it looks. >> well, i tried. but for now, i think i'll stick to two wheels. for "teen kids news," i'm adrien. overweight teens face two big hurdles. ,ç]k to a healthy routine. but it's even harder to stick to a weight loss routine when your "peers" are "peering" over your shoulder. healthy online.gqbú4d sqican teens are overweight. yet for many teens, being heavy

means feeling terribly alone.÷÷q >> i started gaining weight probably when my parents got divorced when i was about 7. and then i got all the way up to about 285 pounds when i was in freshman year of high school. it's like i was overweight and unhappy with myself and the way i looked. i avoided social situations and stuff like that. >> so how did she get from there to here in a year? jackie says losing more than 100 pounds started with a change in attitude. >> in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you have to keep in mind that it's a mental change, first. it should be you changing your lifestyle, not following a fad or trying to fit into a certain size. you should be trying to be more comfortable with yourself. >> that's where an online community called "fitsmi" enters the picture. it's a website with a toolkit to help teen girls along a journey toward health.

linda frankenbach says she created the website because she has been on that road herself. >> i was a teenage girl who really struggled with her weight. i would go up and down 35 pounds a couple of times a year. >> but the fitsmi site draws on much more than one woman's personal experiences. you're part of a world that not only cares but gets it, and if you'd like to bring some changes into your life, there's plenty to choose from. >> a lot of research went into twoing the right fit for teens and their parents. >> we talked to many teen girls and many moms and both groups talked about how much they needed help. the moms said they really didn't know what to say and what to do to help. and the teen girls said they wanted help from everything from a plan they could follow, to help with fashion and beauty and help just feeling better. >> feeling better includes learning how to look your best at any size.

while jackie was on her way to achieving her goal wait, fitsmi saved her and her mom a lot of shopping frustration. >> that one's adorable, with leggings, i hope? we were able to go online and look a little bit before we went out, so instead of going to the trendy store of the month and going in there and being told they don't have size 16, it gave us a little reality check at home, i think put things in perspective so we didn't have to go to the mall and have arguments in a heated scenario when maybe she wasn't feeling great. >> and of course, no one understands your situation as well as teens like you. one of fitsmi's most important features is connection. >> first of all, it's a community of other gillgirls, o girls going through the same kind of things. it's the supportive community and girls who will give each other tips, root each other on

and be there for each other. >> fitsmi really helps you to stay motivated and not fall back into old habits everyone is afraid of that, once you've been overweight. >> jackie shares her commitment to healthy habits not only with her fitsmi friends but also her family. she and her brother enjoy being active together. they've even organized the kitchen so that the snacks they find first are the ones that are good for them. >> it's tougher to make healthy choices, but at the end of the day, you have to look at it like, what am i putting in my body that's going to help me that's going to benefit me? >> fitsmi has a portal for parents, too. so jackie's mom has been learning how she can be an effective partner in her daughter's efforts. >> it's interesting. jackie's weight loss has kind of inspired me to make changes for the whole household. >> there's a lot of information available online about nutrition, weight loss and exercise.

but your first move should be a conversation with your family doctor to make sure your goals, and your methods are healthy ones. for "teen kids news" i'm nicole. when we return, i'll show you real shrunken heads, the worlchannel in the classroom. ♪ there are all kinds of museums in this world. from art, natural history, to science and industry. but did you know that there's a museum dedicated to some of the most bizarre things you've ever seen? welcome to ripley's believe it or not auditorium in new york's times square. >> auditorium is a museum, like no museum you've ever seen before. when you walk in, you'll be confronted with some of the strangest most unusual artifacts ever been compiled in one place.

so we felt that it was very important to differentiate ourselves from a typical museum museum, especially for kids. because as they come in, they'll constantly be looking around and say, i don't believe what i'm saying. hence the name ripley's believe it or not. >> so who was robert ripley? >> he actually started as a newspaper journalist and through his travels became fascinated with the bizarre and unusual. was kinda like the real life indiana jones and lived by the adage that fact was stranger than fiction. >> the odditorium has hundreds of exhibits. from freaks of nature to medieval torture devices to some very strange customs. stephen ekstrom is our guide through this weird and wonderful place. the'so ch te at kedte t show usop five favorit uman heads ite thing in the

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